The invention relates to a test-specimen holder for gripping test specimens, in particular, in order to perform material tests in the form of compressive and in particular tensile tests, comprising two grabs that are preferably movable by hydraulic gripping cylinders, are coaxially aligned relative to each other, and grip the test specimen between the grabs.
When test specimens are gripped that are subsequently intended to undergo tensile tests, in particular, it is first of all critical to chuck them on center, that is, on the actual measurement axis, and, second, the test specimens should be chucked over a sufficient length between the grabs so as to prevent as much as possible any twisting torques by the grabs, as can occur with short chucked test specimens. Due to the test specimen geometry, however, it is frequently not possible to effect chucking over a distance of sufficient length. This means that elaborate measures must often be provided so as to ensure that the grabs close symmetrically.